E.J. Montini began writing news columns for The Arizona Republic shortly before the first governor in state history was impeached, continued doing so as another governor was indicted and resigned, and has carried on over 25 years through out-of-control urban sprawl, unchecked illegal immigration, increasing daily temperatures, decreasing rainfall and recession. Coincidence?

Have a heart, governor, change your mind

Iâ€™ve been hoping sheâ€™d see that the decision she made about immigrants and driverâ€™s licenses is hurting people she couldnâ€™t possibly want to hurt and reverse course.

Maybe she got some bad advice.

Maybe she didnâ€™t know what she was agreeing to.

In my long time in Arizona I have witnessed all manner of political atrocity. Self-serving, selfish stuff of every variety.

But Iâ€™ve yet to see a politician do something, on purpose, knowing it could hurt a victim of domestic violence, sex trafficking or other crimes.

Until this week.

â€śItâ€™s sad, really sad, that the governor would do something that harms this most vulnerable group of individuals in order to try to win a lawsuit,â€ť said Alessandra Soler, executive director of American Civil Liberties of Arizona. â€śBut itâ€™s happening.â€ť

I was hoping Gov Brewer didnâ€™t quite understand what she was agreeing to when she decided to extend her ban on driverâ€™s licenses to all of those in the state on deferred deportation status. Her initial decision was aimed at â€śdreamers,â€ť those thousands of young people who were brought into the country illegally as children, raised and educated here, and who qualified for President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Brewerâ€™s decision to ban those kids from driverâ€™s licenses was a crass political attempt to spite the president and win favor with the radical wing of her party. But the young people affected by that decision are tough and resilient. They fought back with a lawsuit, supported by the ACLU and others.

As one of the plaintiffs Alejandra Lopez, said a while back, “There are tens of thousands of people just like me. We’re Arizonans. We’ve gone to elementary, middle and high school hereâ€¦ For many of us, a driver’s license, or other state-issued ID, can mean the difference between being able to visit an apartment you’d like to rent, buy something with a credit card, or simply prove you are who you say you are. I know. I have federal authorization to work but no state-issued document proving my existence.”

It doesnâ€™t seem like a lot to ask.

And it really doesnâ€™t seem like a lot for crime victims to ask.

A federal judge said it was incongruous of Brewer to deny licenses to the dreamers but grant the same things to many other people with deferred status, among them crime victims. The governorâ€™s lawyers must have told her the only way to defeat the dreamers in court would be to treat everyone with deferred status the same way.

Lawyers are paid to represent only the interests of their clients. Governors are paid to represent everyone. Especially the most vulnerable.

There have been no reports about trouble cause by the thousands of individuals over the years whoâ€™ve gotten licenses after receiving deferred deportation status.

The licenses are not citizenship. They are limited in time. They do allow the state to know who the immigrants are and where they live (a good policy when dealing with those who are not citizens). The licenses also come with a responsibility to get insurance (again, something that benefits all of us.) They also give those who hold licenses the ability to find work, pay taxes and contribute to the community in which they live. And in the case of crime victims, and their children, the freedom to stay clear of their abusers.

The governor canâ€™t deport these individuals. Theyâ€™re here.

As a legal maneuver, denying all driverâ€™s licenses for such individuals might work in court. But what good is a win-at-all-costs approach if it hurts innocent victims?

The governorâ€™s decision reminds me of a lesson about success the nuns in Catholic school taught us. Work hard, they said. Compete. Push yourself. But keep in mind this verse from the Bible:

â€śFor what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul.â€ť

(Column for Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, Arizona Republic)

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